I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day. They
both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and in FAQ it
said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods. However, it
did not say if they are still safe to use. Any comments on their
safety?

Thanks, from a lurker

Arlene Johnston wrote:
> I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day.
> They both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and
> in FAQ it said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods.
> However, it did not say if they are still safe to use. Any comments
> on their safety?
>
> Thanks, from a lurker

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "pitted". In my experience, Revere
stainless (copper clad) doesn't react negatively to tomato sauces. Mine are
going on 30 years old and my mother's are more than 60 years old. We've
both cooked a *lot* of tomato-based foods in ours without a problem. Could
you elaborate/describe what you see as pitting? Is it on the stainless or
the copper?

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
> I'm not quite sure what you mean by "pitted". In my experience, Revere
> stainless (copper clad) doesn't react negatively to tomato sauces. Mine are
> going on 30 years old and my mother's are more than 60 years old. We've
> both cooked a *lot* of tomato-based foods in ours without a problem. Could
> you elaborate/describe what you see as pitting? Is it on the stainless or
> the copper?
Ditto all of Jill's say. My Revere stainless is past 55 years old and
has been used for cooking tomato sauces, soups and stews since the huge
set first came into my grandmother's kitchen. Perhaps what you learned
of tomato pitting copper has to do with the all-copper pans, rather
than the stainless interior ones. And damage pitting of the copper
outside bottoms on Revere stainless cannot be completely eliminated,
though it certainly can be buffed to less noticeable.

Picky

The pitting is on the inside of the pans on the bottom. Picture taking
an ice pick and trying to take tiny pieces out of the inside bottom of
the pan, thats what it looks like.
Not a large area, just in the middle. I, too, have several Revere Ware
pans that are over 35 yrs old that have no pitting. I also have made
lots of tomato based stuff over the years.

aem wrote:
> Arlene Johnston wrote:
>> The pitting is on the inside of the pans on the bottom. Picture
>> taking an ice pick and trying to take tiny pieces out of the inside
>> bottom of the pan, thats what it looks like.
>> Not a large area, just in the middle. [snip]
>
> Throw them away. :-( -aem

I agree; if they are on the *inside* it sounds like they were seriously
abused at some point but I wouldn't blame tomato-based food on it. I have
no idea what to blame it on. I've never seen such a thing.

Jill

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> (Arlene Johnston) hitched up their panties and
> posted :
>
>> I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day.
>> They both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and
>> in FAQ it said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods.
>> However, it did not say if they are still safe to use. Any
>> comments on their safety?
>>
>> Thanks, from a lurker
>>
>
> I had Revere Ware for a long, long time. A couple of the pans became
> pitted but not from acid based foods. I used them mainly for soups
> so I can only assume salt was the pitting culprit. The Revere Ware
> dealer told me to get new pans. He gave a long explanation which I
> have forgotten but for some reason, the pans were basically ruined.
> So I pitched 'em.
>
> Michael

I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP stated
later it was on the copper side of the pans... so I have no idea, really. I
just know my 30 year old Revere Ware hasn't suffered any damage and neither
have my mom's pans. Oh, I take it back... I let some water boil away for
some eggs a couple of years ago in my little saucepan and the copper burned
off the bottom. I had to pitch the pan; there was no saving it. (sigh)

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
> > (Arlene Johnston) hitched up their panties and
> > posted :
> >
> >> I was given 2 very old, very good Revere Ware pans the other day.
> >> They both are pitted. I went to the Corning/Revere Ware website and
> >> in FAQ it said the pitting is from cooking with tomato based foods.
> >> However, it did not say if they are still safe to use. Any
> >> comments on their safety?
> >>
> >> Thanks, from a lurker
> >>
> >
> > I had Revere Ware for a long, long time. A couple of the pans became
> > pitted but not from acid based foods. I used them mainly for soups
> > so I can only assume salt was the pitting culprit. The Revere Ware
> > dealer told me to get new pans. He gave a long explanation which I
> > have forgotten but for some reason, the pans were basically ruined.
> > So I pitched 'em.
> >
> > Michael
>
> I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP stated
> later it was on the copper side of the pans... so I have no idea, really. I
> just know my 30 year old Revere Ware hasn't suffered any damage and neither
> have my mom's pans. Oh, I take it back... I let some water boil away for
> some eggs a couple of years ago in my little saucepan and the copper burned
> off the bottom. I had to pitch the pan; there was no saving it. (sigh)
>
> Jill

I've only recently heard/read/watched that stainless steel pans/pots can
be damaged when salt is added to water "before" it boils, as in to
cook/boil pasta, rice, grits, oatmeal, etc. In other words, add salt to
the water only after the water is boiling. Since I don't use too much
salt, and have only recently switched from non-stick to stainless steel
cookware, I haven't seen any "pitting." (I still have some non-stick
cookware).

Somehow, I doubt that tomato-based foods are the culprit, unless the
finished product was stored in the cooking pan for days at a time (?),
instead of getting saved in a different container. Oh well, MWV (milage
will vary).

Skyhooks
""aahhtt""
s b c g l o b a l
""ddoott""
n e t

jmcquown wrote:
>
> I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP stated
> later it was on the copper side of the pans

Actually the OP sated in her second post that the pitting is on the
*inside* of the pan, at the bottom.

Sheldon wrote on 14 Mar 2006 in rec.food.cooking

>
> jmcquown wrote:
> >
> > I really find it hard to believe pitting was caused by salt. The OP
> > stated later it was on the copper side of the pans
>
> Actually the OP sated in her second post that the pitting is on the
> *inside* of the pan, at the bottom.
>
>

To me it sounds like a fork was used to stab frozen stuff in the pan to aid
in melting while cooking...A thing my ex did. She'd chip off chunks of
frozen soup/ hamburger etc in the belief that would speed up cooking...All
it really did was to allow her to stab (hard) something other than me.

--
-Alan

Thanks everyone. I think I'll just chuck the pans.